Cap and hanger for cleaning implements



Nov. 24, 1953 G. G. GREENE, JR

CAP AND HANGER FOR CLEANING IMPLEMENTS Filed Oct. 28, 1949 INVENTOR. 62 mm'soes: Gee-ms, J2.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES smear c tr c-e;

CAR AND HANGER FOR; CLEANINGH:

IMBQEME'NSTISLE GlemrG: G reene -Jr i warren P3,; vn icai beoeid az 49;. eriatNqtlzalfid The present invention relates to brooms, brushes, mops and other cleaning implements of the "types usually used in households, and it relates more especially to those having a tubular metal handle.

Cleaning implements of this type arenow be.- ing provided largely with tubular metalhandles instead'ofwcoden handles aspreviously usedgenerally; but'one of theobjections to the tubular handleshas been the open end and exposed edge at" the top of the handle as compared with the rounded upper end as provided onfl the wooden handles; Efforts have been made to obviate this objection byproviding theupper end of thetubularhandle witha cap composed of plastic, rubber orsimilar'material, but such caps are frangible and liablejto be easily detached from the end of the handle; and have been otherwise not satisfactory."

A primary-object of the present invention is to providea cap which maybe produced with facility and inexpensively; and which may be readily attachedsecurelytothe top of' the handle to close the end thereof 'and'cover' its upper edge, and which presents a neat appearance.

Anotherpbject" is to" provide such a cap which carriesahanging ring bymeans of which theimplement may be hung on a nail or other projection on a wall 'or-"other support while the implementdsnpt in use.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a cap for closing the top of. a tubular: handle which; ,carries a hanging ring v adapted to:v be snapped down onto the cap where-it isretained yieldingly while the implement is being used, and whichmay be readily extended from the topof thecap for engagement with anail or other. projection; for hanging up the implement While itis notin use.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention applied for example, to a brush or similar household implement- Figure 1 is an elevation of the-implementhaving a tubular handle provided with a cap closing its upper end and provided with a hanging ring, the ring being extended from the cap and the implement hung thereby on a wall or other suitable support.

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation of the upper end of the tubular handle provided with a cap and hanging ring according to the present invention, the hanging ring being shown in its folded position on top of the cap, as While the implement is in use.

i-cia' m, (o1. us -359T '2 Figure 3 is a top. planview-of,Figure2.,, V Figure 4' is a vertical sectiononi the line 4 5-4 inFigure 3, showing. the hanging'ring folded' 'd I on thetop of the cap in full lines, andjeiitehded' from the cap for ha nging by the dottedilines Figure 5 is a detail plan view of the hall rig; ring. D

Figured is a detail enlarged section. on thelline E..6IinFigu re3I Similar parts. are designated by; the, erenoe. numerals in the. different views; The broom or brush Hito whi'chth'e I is shown applied. in the ,present' .instance is videdfl with a tubular, metalhandle H 'the lowen endj'of which isrs'uitably att'a'chedj to the ba Egon; bodyof the broom or brush, the upper e'nd'oLth'e. tubular handle being closed lby the, cap. 121 51051 videdfaccording to the, present invention.

The cap I 2 is .formedjwith a closedftopl3jwhi'ch is preferably flat or substantially so, alcylindrical'. 1ower'portion. M'of a diameter to have afpresjs; fit into the open upper endfof the handle, and upper, portion. IS'Whichis preferably cylindr and enlargedrelatively to the portion. ['4 to ov i hang the'upper edge of the handle when the cap is applied thereto, the upper portion 15' being formed preferably of a diameter substantially equal to thatjof the han dle so that .when the.cap isflapplied to thehandle, this portionof'lthel cap" will overlie the. upper edge oijthe handle. and; thereby protect the hand .of'theuser fromcutting orjin'j'ury thereby, and the portion, l5,preferahly forms substantially a continuation of thegexterior; surface ofthel'iandle and'is flush therewith' th us' avoidin'gashoulder or other obstruction to? the hand while the implement is in use. The capmay, be readily drawn from sheet. metal .andjpr essed firmly into the top of thehandle wh'ere it is per; manently secured. The present invention provides a hanging; ring 20on thecap which may.beextended'ltherefrom to provide means for hangingthe implementlon, a wall or other support whilenot in use,'and1 miay; be ;folded down, on the clap while the implement-is, in use. The cap is preferably so formed that the hanging ring will be partially embedded or countersunk in the cap while the hanging ring is in its folded or inoperative position and thus provide a somewhat rounded edge around the upper peripheral edge of the cap. For this purpose, the top of the cap is formed around its upper peripheral edge with an annular recess or channel 2| of a depth and width to at least partially receive the ring when the latter is folded down onto the cap. This recess or channel extends around the periphsame. not;

eral edge of the cap except at one side thereof where a portion 22 of the cap is continued outwardly from the top l3 of the cap and in the plane thereof to the outer side of the portion 15 and then extended downwardly, the cap being cut at each side of this portion 22 to provide openings 23 to receive the ends of the ring 20 which is split. The ring 20 is formed of spring steel or other suitable resilient metal, and its split formation enables the ring to be expanded to spread apart its ends for insertion beneath the portion 22, the latter thus forming a hinge strap which permits pivotal movement of the ring about its ends as a center whereby the ring may swing into the annular recess or channel 2| and thus occupy a folded relation with the cap, as shown by the full lines in Fig. 4, or it may be swung out of the recess or channel into extended position substantially at a right angle to the plane of the top of the cap, as shown by the dotted lines in said figure. The hinge portion 22 is preferably provided with an indentation 24 which occupies a position between the ends of the split ring, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby providing means for preventing displacement of either end of the ring from the hinge portion 22.

In order to yieldingly retain the ring in folded position on the cap and thereby prevent displacement thereof from its recess or channel due to motion of the implement incident to its use, the inner annular wall 25 of the recess or channel is formed of substantially cylindrical shape or provided with a slight overhang, and is of slightly greater diameter than the internal diameter of the ring 20 when the latter is contracted under its inherent resilience. Consequently, when the ring is swung into its folded position on the cap, the ringwill be slightly expanded, and as the ring snaps into the recess or channel, it will be yieldingly retained therein. The ring may, however, be readily released from its recess and swung upwardly into extended position above the cap, by first inserting a thumb or finger nail between the bottom of the ring and the bottom of the recess or channel.

The formation of the cap with the portions l4 and I of difierent diameters produces a shoulder 26 between these portions which serves as an abutment to gauge the extent to which the cap is pressed into the end of the handle to frictionally secure it therein, this shoulder also overlying and shielding the upper edge of the handle from the hand of the user of the implement.

Caps provided by the present invention are durable and may be applied readily to tubular handles of implements of various kinds to close the ends thereof and shield their relatively sharp edges from the hands of the users of the imple ments. Since the caps may be made of sheet metal or other suitable light weight material, they may be manufactured inexpensively and readily applied to the tubular handles, and as the caps are secured to the handles frictionally when pressed therein, no rivets, screws or additional 4 securing means are required. The caps will not add appreciably to the weight of the implements to which they are applied, and they present a neat appearance.

The combined cap and hanging ring provided by the present invention enables the cap to be utilized as means for attaching the hanging ring to the handle, and the ring while seated in its annular recess or channel contributes to the formation of a rounded end on the handle. As the ring is yieldingly retained in folded position in the annular recess or channel in the cap while the implement is in use, it will not rattle or become displaced incident to the movements of the handle in manipulating the implement, although the ring may be easily and quickly extended from the cap for hanging up the implement on a wall or other suitable support while not in use.

I claim:

A cap and hanger for application to a tubular handle, comprising a cap member having a cylindrical portion of a diameter to be pressed into and secured in an end of the handle and having another cylindrical portion of relatively greater diameter than that of said first-mentioned portion to overlie the edge of the end of the handle, said portion of greater diameter having a closed top and an annular recess surrounding it at the junction of its periphery with the periphery of said portion of greater diameter and having an annular inner wall, said annular recess and inner wall being contained within the diameter of said portion of greater diameter, and said top having a hinge portion which is out therefrom and extends outwardly beyond said annular recess and inner wall, and a resilient hanging ring pivotally connected to the cap member by said hinge portion for swinging movement into the annular recess and having an inherent diameter less than that of said annular inner wall to frictionally retain the ring in folded relation with the cap member, or for swinging movement out of said recess and into extended relation with the cap member.

GLENN G. GREENE, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 495,012 Brinton Apr. 11, 1893 1,370,474 Newsom Mar. 1,1921 1,380,310 Wolcott May 31, 1921 1,487,932 Gifiin Mar. 25, 1924 1,591,980 Jones July 13, 1926 1,715,792 Shrum June 4, 1929 1,977,086 Pryor Oct. 16, 1934 2,066,886 Henn Jan. 5, 1937 2,510,812 Garland et al. June 6, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 522,078 Germany Oct. 16, 1934 862,757 France 1941 

